Waman Kendre is an Indian theatre director and

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

. He has previously served as the Director of

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

, (NSD) New Delhi from August 2013 to September 2018. He is married to Actress Gauri Kendre and also has a son

Early years

He is the son of a farmer from Daradwadi village in

Beed Beed (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is a city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in India. It is the administrative headquarters in Beed district. History Beed is a historical city of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is ob ...

district of the Indian state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. After his school and college, he completed a one-year proficiency certification course in

Dramatics Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University,

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

and then was selected for a three-year course in the

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Career

, he earned a fellowship to research on ritualistic and folk theatre of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He remained active in theatre activities in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

for many years. He is credited with playing a leading role in the

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

theatre movement in late 1970s

. Kendre had a thirty-year teaching experience. He conducted more than two hundred and fifty workshops on varying aspects of theatre, in India and abroad. He was a Research Associate with the Theatre Development Centre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, for more than nine years. He was actively involved in administrative and organizational running of NCPA,

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate university, collegiate, State university (India), state-owned, Public university, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the un ...

, and Rangpeeth, Mumbai. He held positions in advisory committees and governing councils including Vision Plan Committee of

, Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha of the government of Maharashatra), Advisory Committee of the Department of Drama in

Rajasthan University University of Rajasthan is a public and state university in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India and is one of the oldest universities in the state. It was set up on 8 January 1947 as the University of Rajputana and was given its current name in 1956. ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

, Governing Council and Executive Committee of West Zonal Cultural Centre,

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, Academic Council of

, Vision Plan Committee of

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, Advisory Committee for

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and

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and Society of Governing Council of

Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) is a film and television institute located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Named after Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the institute provides higher and professional education and technical expe ...

. He adapted Sanskrit playwright

Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His name was already well-known by the 1st century BCE and he belongs to the late-Mauryan (322-184 BCE) period at the earliest, but the thir ...

's '' Madhyama Vyāyoga'' in three different languages: ''O My Love'' in

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, ''Mohe Piya'' in

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and ''Piya Bawari'' in

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. Other notable productions include ''Zulwa'', ''Jannemann'', ''Tempt Me Not'', ''Nati Goti'', ''Gadhe Ki Baraat'', ''Ladi Nazariya'', ''Ranangan'', ''Dusra Samana'', ''Saiyyan Bhaye Kotwal'', ''Ghazab Teri Ada'', ''Laagi Lagan'', ''Char Divas Premache'' and ''Rajdarshan''.

Recognition

He has been repeatedly honoured for his contribution to theatre including a National Award conferred by the

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for Theatre Direction in a recognition by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

in 2012. . In 2019, he received the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

award, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendre, Waman Living people Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian male dramatists and playwrights National School of Drama alumni National School of Drama faculty Indian theatre directors Hindi theatre Year of birth missing (living people) Dramatists and playwrights from Maharashtra People from Beed district Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts